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 7/10 Very Good --- blog.wired.com http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/atom.xml
| Wired.com weighs in on the latest science news, including space, biology, disease, drugs and alcohol, geology, math, neuroscience, and physics. ... |
Monday, May 12, 2008 --- 73 days ago http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/05/european-smart.html
After seeing them in Europe for years, I finally had my first smart car sighting in the United States recently. (The fortwo became available in the United States in January of 2008.)
Ranked the highest fuel efficiency car in the United States (besides hybrids), the smart fortwo gets 33/41 miles to the gallon (city/highway) according to the EPA . The drop in efficiency from the European model (50 mpg) is most likely due to the changes that were required to import the car (or EPA's new more realistic testing conditions - including stopping, using the A/C etc.)
With recent surge of gas prices taking us closer to $4.00 a gallon in the United States, I expect to see a lot more of these around town soon. At $11,590 MSRP for the base model they are also a lot more affordable than their hybrid cousins or even a Mini Cooper. Although dealers in the United States are mostly on backorder (it's good to see that demand is high). I read that the EPA and the DOT (Department of Transportation) are allowing any Canadian smart cars manufactured after October 2007 to be street legal in the United States as well. So if you are in a hurry you can cross the border and bring one back from Canada.
According to smartusa.com, the fortwo has enough luggage space for groceries, airport luggage (one reviewer said a suitcase and a carry on bag), even a set of golf clubs and has a maximum speed of 90 mph (electronically governed).
If the sma ... |
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